Vitamin D and Acute Respiratory Infections in Children

Background: This study sought to evaluate the association between serum vitamin D levels and acute respiratory infection (ARI) in under-five children in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) in Nigeria.

Method: This study was conducted in NAUTH, Nigeria, in 2017, in 250 children with ARI, classified into those with an acute upper respiratory infection (AURI) and those with an acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) and 250 children without ARI, matched for age and gender. Sociodemographic data and serum vitamin D were obtained. The data were compared between the study and the control groups. The data were compared between those with AURI and those with ALRI.

Results: The mean serum 25(OH)D of (52.2±25.6 ng/ml) in the study subjects was lower than the (57.0±23.9 ng/ml in the control group (t=2.20, p=0.03). The mean serum 25(OH)D levels in children with ALRI [39.8±23.8 ng/ml] was lower than in those with AURI [56.0±24.9ng/ml] (t= 14.83, p <0.001). In addition, the association between low levels of serum 25(OH)D and the severity of ALRI was significant (x2 = 9.45, p = 0.002).

Conclusion: In under-five children, serum vitamin D levels were low, and these low levels were associated more with ALRIs than AURIs in this study.